Display module and large format display apparatus using the same

ABSTRACT

A display module includes a substrate; light emitting diodes, first connection pads, second connection pads, and side wirings. The light emitting diodes are arranged on one surface of the substrate. The first connection pads are formed on the one surface of the substrate. The second connection pads are formed on an opposite surface of the one surface. The side wirings are formed on each of a first edge of the substrate and a second edge of the substrate that is adjacent to the first edge. The side wirings electrically couple the first connection pads on the one surface of the substrate with respective ones of the second connection pads on the opposite surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/681,290, filed on Nov. 12, 2019, which is based on and claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Korean patent application number10-2018-0141236, filed on Nov. 16, 2018, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The disclosure relates to a display module and a large format displayapparatus using the same, and more particularly, to a display modulemounted with a light emitting diode and formed with side wiring for abezelless implementation and to a large format display apparatusimplementing seamlessness by coupling a plurality of the displaymodules.

2. Description of Related Art

A display apparatus is operated by pixel or sub-pixel units to expressvarious colors. The operation is controlled by a thin film transistor(TFT) of each pixel or sub-pixel. A plurality of TFTs are arranged on aflexible substrate, a glass substrate or a plastic substrate, which isreferred to as a TFT substrate.

The TFT substrate such as the above is used as a substrate that drivesdisplays of various sizes, from a flexible device and a small wearabledevice (for example, a wearable watch, etc.) to a large format TV oftens of inches. In order to drive the TFT substrate, an externalintegrated circuit (External IC) or driver integrated circuit (DriverIC) capable of applying current to the TFT substrate may be coupledthereto.

Recently, TFT substrates without a bum-in phenomenon for not usingorganic materials unlike an organic light emitting diode (OLED), withlong lifespan, and mounted with light emitting diode using non-organicmaterials are being produced. TFT substrates mounted with light emittingdiode such as the above may be coupled to each circuit through chip onglass (COG) bonding, film on glass (FOG) bonding, or the like. Forcouplings such as the above, an area, that is, a bezel area, having afixed surface at the edge of the TFT substrate must be secured.

Currently, research and development on bezelless technology, whichreduces or eliminates the bezel area to maximize an active area (AA)displaying a video image on a display module applied with light emittingdiode is steadily in progress. Some small display apparatuses such as asmart phone or large format display apparatuses such as a TV or anelectronic display board are currently applied with a plurality ofbezelless display modules.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided adisplay module comprising a thin film transistor substrate; a pluralityof light emitting diodes arranged on one surface of the thin filmtransistor substrate; and a plurality of side wirings formed on each ofa first edge of the thin film transistor substrate and a second edge ofthe thin film transistor substrate that is adjacent to the first edge toelectrically couple components on the one surface of the thin filmtransistor substrate with components on an opposite surface of the onesurface respectively.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided alarge format display apparatus comprising a plurality of the displaymodules connected to each other, wherein the first edge and the secondedge of each of the display modules are arranged on outside edges of thelarge format display apparatus.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided alarge format display apparatus, wherein a plurality of display modulesare consecutively connected, each of the plurality of display modulescomprising a thin film transistor substrate; a plurality of lightemitting diodes arranged on one surface of the thin film transistorsubstrate; and a plurality of side wirings formed only on each of oneedge of the thin film transistor substrate and another edge adjacent tothe one edge, to electrically couple components on the one surface ofthe thin film transistor substrate with components on an oppositesurface to the one surface, respectively.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram provided to show a display module according toan embodiment;

FIG. 2 is front diagram provided to show a display module according toan embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram taken along line A-A as indicated inFIG. 2, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional diagram provided to show an example of aseparate printed circuit board electrically coupled to a secondconnection pad electrically connected to side wiring of a back surfaceof a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate through a flexible printedcircuit (FPC), according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram provided to show an example of adriver IC directly coupled with a side wiring of a back surface of a TFTsubstrate, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a front diagram provided to show a large format displayapparatus in which display modules are arranged in plurality accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram provided to show both a timing controller anda processor to control a panel driver of a display module, according toan embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a front diagram provided to show an example of a large formatdisplay apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged diagram provided to show portion B indicated inFIG. 8, according to an embodiment; and

FIGS. 10 and 11 are front diagrams provided to show examples of largeformat display apparatuses according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In describing the present disclosure, based on determining that thedetailed description of related known technologies may unnecessarilyconfuse the gist of the disclosure, the detailed description thereofwill be omitted. Further, it should be noted that repetitivedescriptions of the same configuration will be omitted for conciseness.

The suffix “unit” appended to elements used in the description below isonly added or used interchangeably for convenience sake in preparing thespecification, and does not have a differentiating meaning or functionby its own.

The terms used in the present disclosure are used to describe variousembodiments, and are not intended to constrain and/or limit the presentdisclosure. A singular expression includes a plural expression, unlessotherwise specified.

It is to be understood that the terms such as ‘comprise’ or ‘have’ areused herein to designate a presence of a characteristic, number, step,operation, element, component, or a combination thereof disclosed in thespecification, and not to preclude a presence or a possibility of addingone or more of other characteristics, numbers, steps, operations,elements, components or a combination thereof.

Expressions and terms such as “first” or “second” may use correspondingcomponents regardless of importance or order and are used to distinguishone component from another without limiting the components.

Based on a certain element (for example, first element) being indicatedas being “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to” anotherelement (for example, second element) or “connected to”, it is to beunderstood that a certain element may be directly coupled to anotherelement or may be coupled through an other element (for example, thirdelement). On the other hand, if a certain element (for example, firstelement) is referred to as being “directly coupled with/to” or “directlyconnected to” another element (for example, second element), it is to beunderstood as there is no other element (for example, third element)between the certain element and the another element.

An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a large format displaycapable of implementing seamlessness by arranging a display moduleformed with side wiring for a bezelless implementation and an edge ofeach display module not formed with side wiring to contact with edges ofother display modules that are not formed with side wiring.

In addition, another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide alarge format display apparatus capable of implementing seamlessness bymaintaining a pitch between the outermost side pixels of the displaymodules adjacent to each other to be the same as a pitch of a singledisplay module.

To achieve the above aspects, a display module according to anembodiment may include a thin film transistor substrate; a plurality oflight emitting diodes arranged on one surface of the thin filmtransistor substrate; and a side wiring formed in plurality to each of afirst edge of the thin film transistor substrate and a second edgeadjacent to the first edge to electrically couple the one surface of thethin film transistor substrate with an opposite surface of the onesurface respectively.

Each of the plurality of side wirings may be configured to be formed toconnect one surface, a side end surface and an other surface of thinfilm transistor substrate, in which one end is configured to beelectrically coupled with a first connection pad disposed on the onesurface of the thin film transistor substrate, and an other end isconfigured to be electrically coupled with a second connection paddisposed on the other surface of the thin film transistor substrate oran electronic element.

In addition, in terms of a large format display apparatus in which aplurality of display modules are consecutively connected, each of theplurality of display modules may comprise a thin film transistorsubstrate; a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged on a onesurface of the thin film transistor substrate; and a side wiring formedin plurality to each of a one edge of the thin film transistor substrateand to an other edge adjacent to the one edge to electrically couple theone surface of the thin film transistor substrate with an oppositesurface of the one surface respectively, and since each of the pluralityof display modules providing a large format display apparatus arrangedsuch that edges with side wiring are disposed toward an outer part, theobjects above may be achieved.

The plurality of display modules may be comprised of first displaymodule to a fourth display module, and each display module in contactwith the other may be configured in a 2×2 arrangement such that an edgewithout side wiring is in contact with each other.

The plurality of display modules may be configured such that the firstdisplay module is formed with a side wiring to each of a left side ofthe edge and a top side of the edge, the second display module is formedwith a side wiring to each of a right edge and a top side of the edge,the third display module is formed with a side wiring to each of a leftside of the edge and a bottom side of the edge, and the fourth displaymodule is formed with a side wiring to each of a right side of the edgeand a bottom side of the edge.

The plurality of light emitting diodes formed on each of the displaymodules may form one pixel per three diodes, and the pixel may bearranged in plural at a first pitch where a top side, a bottom side, aleft side, and a right side are identical on the thin film transistorsubstrate in a lattice shape.

The large format display apparatus according to an embodiment mayfurther include at least one additional display module formed with aplurality of side wirings to each of two edges adjacent to each other,the additional display module may be configured such that an edgewithout side wiring is in contact with an edge with side wiring from oneof the first display module to the fourth display module, and the pixelsdisposed closest between each display module from the pixels disposedrespectively on any one from the additional display module and the firstdisplay module to the fourth display module may be spaced apart at asecond pitch that is the same as the first pitch.

As described above, according to various embodiments, based on the edgeswithout side wiring being arranged to be in contact when coupling aplurality of bezelless display modules, a seam is not visible at aportion where each display module is coupled and a display quality ofthe display apparatus may be improved.

In addition, according to the various embodiments, the display modulecoupled to an outside of the four display modules coupled to a centermay be arranged such that pixel intervals are adjusted with an adjacentdisplay module to implement seamlessness.

A display module according to various embodiments includes side wiringat an edge of a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate to electricallycouple a plurality of light emitting elements arranged on a frontsurface of the TFT substrate with circuits disposed on a back surface ofthe TFT substrate.

The TFT substrate may be comprised of one of a glass substrate, aflexible substrate and a plastic substrate, and a plurality of TFTsformed on one surface of the respective substrate, and may be referredto as a backplane.

An edge of the TFT substrate may be the outermost side of the TFTsubstrate. Further, the edge of the TFT substrate may be a dummy area(DA) reaching from outermost side of the TFT substrate to an active areawhere video images are displayed. Accordingly, the dummy area mayinclude a side end surface of the TFT substrate, a portion of a frontsurface of a TFT substrate adjacent to the side end surface and aportion of a back surface.

The substrate of the display module according to various embodiments mayinclude a rear substrate which may be electrically coupled to the backsurface of the TFT substrate through a flexible printed circuit (FPC).

The rear substrate may be comprised in a thin film form with a thicknessof tens of micrometers (for example, 50 gm or less) or in a thin glassform. In the case the rear substrate is comprised of a thin film form,the rear substrate may be formed in from a plastic material such as apolyimide (PI), a polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a polythersulfone(PES), a polyethylene naphtalate (PEN) or a polycabonate (PC).

A light emitting element applied to a display substrate according to anembodiment may be a light emitting diode, and in this case, each lightemitting diode may be comprised of a red color sub-pixel (R sub-pixel),a green color sub-pixel (G sub-pixel), and a blue color sub-pixel (Bsub-pixel). A single pixel may be comprised of three R, G and Bsub-pixels, and each TFT of the TFT substrate may be formed in asub-pixel unit.

The light emitting diode self illuminates, thereby a backlight unit, aliquid crystal layer and a polarizer may be omitted, and a thin glasslayer may be disposed on a top uppermost layer. Accordingly, the lightemitting diode of the present disclosure may be formed in a thicknessthinner than an OLED. Further, since the light emitting diode usesnon-organic materials, no bum-in phenomenon occurs, light emittingefficiency is approximately three folds higher than an OLED using anorganic material, and power consumption is halved. Accordingly, if adisplay module mounted with the light emitting diode of the presentdisclosure is applied to a smartphone, the screen would be more clearlyvisible even in bright places and battery use time would increase.Further, the light emitting diode may be mounted on a substrate with acurvature through a roller transfer method and an element may beattached on a substrate capable of stretching like a rubber, making itpossible to produce a transparent display that freely changes form.Accordingly, there are no limitations to the actual mountable substrate.Further, the light emitting diode may be produced in size from a microsize to a size of about 100 gm or less, more preferably, about 30 gm orless, and may be implemented in ultra-high resolution based on beingapplied to a TV of various sizes or to a small wearable device (smartwatches, etc.). As described above, the light emitting diode of thepresent disclosure which is capable of implementing an ultra-highresolution may maximize video image quality based on being applied to avirtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headset since the changetime (time for completely changing color) is on the order ofnanoseconds.

The side wiring formed on the edge of the TFT substrate in variousembodiments may electrically couple a first connection pad formed on afront surface of the TFT substrate with a second connection pad formedon a back surface of the TFT substrate. For this purpose, the sidewiring is formed along a front surface, a side end surface and a backsurface of the TFT substrate. One end of the side wiring is electricallycoupled to the first connection pad, and another end may be electricallycoupled to the second connection pad. At this time, a portion of theside wiring may be formed on the side end surface of the TFT substrate,and thus the side wiring may protrude further than the side end surfaceof the TFT substrate as much as the thickness of the side wiring. Inthis case, a rear substrate may be electrically coupled to the secondconnection pad through a flexible printed circuit (FPC). A driverintegrated circuit (driver IC) mounted on the back surface of the TFTsubstrate may be directly connected to the second connection pad or maybe indirectly connected through a separate wiring.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a largeformat display apparatus may be produced by arranging a plurality of thedisplay modules into a tiled type. The side wiring may be formed on eachdisplay module so as to not be disposed between the display modulesadjacent to each other to implement seamlessness. In this case, the sidewiring formed on one display module may be formed in plurality atintervals along one side of the display module, and may be formed inplurality at regular intervals along a different side adjacent to theone side. Accordingly, side wiring may be formed on the two sidesadjacent to each other of the display module.

The various embodiments of the present disclosure may arrange theplurality of display modules and may provide a large format display(LFD) apparatus. In this case, the large format display apparatus isdisposed so that the side wiring is not positioned between each displaymodule arranged to be adjacent to each other, to thus implementseamlessness. The side wiring formed on each display module according tothe disposition of the display modules is positioned along the outerpart of the large format display apparatus. In this case, the displaymodule may be comprised of, for example, four display modules.

The various embodiments of the present disclosure may implement a biggerscreen than a large format display apparatus formed with four displaymodules implementing seamlessness. To this end, a plurality of displaymodules may be arranged to surround all of the outer part of the fourdisplay modules, arranged on the left side and right side of the fourdisplay modules, or arranged on a top side and a bottom side of the fourdisplay modules.

In the display modules according to the various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, bezelless implementation may be possible byminimizing a dummy area and maximizing an active area . Under thestructure for a bezelless implementation as above, the dummy area may bereduced and thereby the active area may be relatively increased.Accordingly, a mounting density of the light emitting diodes for unitdisplay modules may be increased. Based on coupling a plurality ofbezelless implemented display modules in a tiled form, a large formatdisplay (LFD) apparatus may be provided capable of maximizing the activearea or implementing the total area of the front surface as a pixelemission region.

In this case, each display module, by minimizing the dummy area in thefront surface, may maintain a pitch between each pixel of the displaymodules adjacent to each other to be the same as a pitch between eachpixel in a single display module, and thus may implement seamlessness atthe coupling portion between the display modules.

The various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described indetail below with references to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram provided to show a display module according toan embodiment, FIG. 2 is front diagram provided to show a display moduleaccording to an embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagramtaken along line A-A as indicated in FIG. 2, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a display module 100 may include a thin filmtransistor (TFT) substrate 110 formed with a plurality of pixel driverintegrated circuits (ICs) 137, a plurality of pixels 130 arranged on onesurface (hereinafter referred to as ‘front surface of the TFTsubstrate’) of the TFT substrate, a panel driver 150 generating acontrol signal and providing the generated control signal to each pixeldriver IC 137 formed on the TFT substrate, and a side wiring 170 formedon an edge of the TFT substrate 110 that electrically couples the pixeldriver IC 137 with the panel driver 150. In some embodiments, the paneldriver 150 may include a data driver 151 and a gate driver 153.

The TFT substrate 110 may form a plurality of data signal lines disposedhorizontally a plurality of gate signal lines disposed vertically tocontrol the plurality of pixels 130 arranged on the front surface 111 ofthe TFT substrate.

The front surface 111 of the TFT substrate is divided into an activearea (AA), which is an area for displaying video images through aplurality of pixels 130, and a dummy area (DA) excluding the activearea. The dummy area (DA) may correspond to the edge of the TFTsubstrate 110, and the dummy (DA) and the edge of the TFT substrate 110are considered identical configurations in the present disclosure.

The plurality of pixels 130 may be arranged in matrix form on the frontsurface of the TFT substrate 110. Each pixel 130 may include threesub-pixels, e.g., an R sub-pixel 131, a G sub-pixel 132, and a Bsub-pixel 133 corresponding to red, green, and blue colors. Eachsub-pixel 131, 132 and 133 may be comprised of a light emitting diodeemitting the color of the respective sub-pixel. The ‘sub-pixel’ and‘light emitting diode’ are considered identical configurations and areused interchangeably in the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the R, G, B sub pixels 131, 132 and 133 may bearranged in matrix form as shown in the top of the expanded area in theleft of FIG. 2, or sequentially within one pixel 130 as shown in thebottom of the expanded area in the left of FIG. 2. However, thearrangement forms of the sub-pixels shown in FIG. 2 are merely examplesand the R, G, B sub-pixels 131, 132 and 133 may be disposed in variousforms within a signal pixel 130. In some embodiments, each single pixel130 may include a corresponding pixel driver IC 137 (not shown in FIG.2), and the pixel driver IC 137 may drive the light emitting diodescorresponding to each of the R, G, B sub-pixels 131, 132 and 133.

In other embodiments, one pixel 130 in the present disclosure may bedefined as including three pixel driver ICs 137 for respectively drivingR, G, B sub-pixels 131, 132 and 133. That is, in some embodiments, thepixel driver ICs 137 may correspond one to one with the R, G, B,sub-pixels 131, 132, and 133.

The panel driver 150 may be coupled to the TFT substrate 110 through achip on glass (COG) bonding or film of glass (FOG) bonding method. Thepanel driver 150 such as the above drives a plurality of pixel driverICs 137 to control the emission of a plurality of light emitting diodes131,132 and 133 electrically coupled with each of the plurality of pixeldriver ICs 137. In particular, the panel driver 150 may control theplurality of pixel driver ICs 137 per line through a data driver 151 anda gate driver 153.

The data driver 151 generates a control signal to sequentially controlthe plurality of horizontal lines formed on the front surface 111 of theTFT substrate line by line per video image frame, and may transfer thegenerated control signal to the pixel driver IC 137 coupled to eachcorresponding line. The gate driver 153 generates a control signal tosequentially control the plurality of vertical lines formed on the frontsurface 111 of the TFT substrate line by line per video image frame, andmay transfer the generated control signal to the pixel driver IC 137coupled to each corresponding line.

The side wiring 170 may be formed in plurality at predeterminedintervals along the edge of the TFT substrate 110. As shown in FIG. 3,the side wiring 170 may electrically couple a first connection pad 121formed on the front surface 111 of the TFT substrate and a secondconnection pad 123 formed on the back surface 113 of the TFT substrate.The side wiring 170 may physically connect the first connection pad 121to the second connection pad 123. The first connection pad 121 may beformed in plurality at predetermined intervals along the top side of thefront surface 111 of the TFT substrate and the left side of the frontsurface 111 of the TFT substrate, as shown in FIG. 3. The plurality offirst connection pads 121 arranged along the top side of the frontsurface 111 of the TFT substrate 110 may be electrically coupled withthe gate signal wiring, and the plurality of first connection pads 121arranged along the left side of the front surface 111 of the TFTsubstrate may be electrically coupled with the data signal wiring. Thefirst connection pads 121 arranged along the top side of the frontsurface 111 of the TFT substrate 110 may be physically connected to thegate signal wiring, and the first connection pads 121 arranged along theleft side of the front surface 111 of the TFT substrate may bephysically connected with the data signal wiring

The side wiring 170 is formed on the edge of the TFT substrate 110, andto electrically couple the first connection pad 121 formed on the frontsurface 111 of the TFT substrate with the second connection pad 123formed on the back surface 113 of the TFT substrate to each other, oneend of the side wiring 170 may be electrically coupled to the firstconnection pad 121 and the other end of the side wiring 170 may beelectrically coupled to the second connection pad 123.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 3, the side wiring 170 may include afirst portion 171 formed on the front surface 111 of the TFT substrate110, a second portion 172 formed on the side end surface 112 of the TFTsubstrate 110, and a third part 173 formed on the back surface 113 ofthe TFT substrate 110. The side wiring 170 may have a thickness t. Inthis configuration, the side wiring 170 may protrude from the side endsurface 112 of the TFT substrate 110 by the thickness t of the sidewiring 170 due to the second portion 172 being formed on the side endsurface 112 of the TFT substrate 110.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional diagram provided to show an example of aseparate printed circuit board electrically coupled to a secondconnection pad electrically connected to side wiring of a back surfaceof a TFT substrate through a flexible printed circuit (FPC), accordingto an embodiment.

In some embodiments, the third part 173 formed on the back surface 113of the TFT substrate may be electrically coupled with a panel driver 150through a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 141. That is, the panel driver150 may be electrically coupled to and physically connected to thesecond connection pad 123 by the FPC 141, as shown in FIG. 4. The paneldriver 150 may include at least one electronic element 145 and a datadriver 151 (or gate driver 153) mounted with an IC chip on a separateprinted circuit board 143. The panel driver 150 may be disposed on theback surface 113 of the TFT substrate for a bezelless implementation ofthe display module 100. It should be noted that FIG. 4 shows the datadriver 151 of the panel driver 150 connected to the second connectionpad 123 by the FPC 141. However, the gate driver 153 of the panel driver150 may be connected to another one of the second connection pads 123 byflexible printed circuit (FPC). In other words, the data driver 151 ofthe panel driver 150 and the gate driver 153 of the panel driver 150 maybe connected to different ones of the second connection pads 123 by FPCs141.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram provided to show an example of adriver IC directly coupled with a side wiring of a back surface of a TFTsubstrate, according to an embodiment.

In some embodiments, the data driver 151 (or the gate driver 153) of thepanel driver 150 may be directly mounted to the third part 173 formed onthe back surface 113 of the TFT substrate as shown in FIG. 5. In thisconfiguration, the second connection pad 123 and a separate printedcircuit board 143 may be omitted. In this configuration, the electricelement 145 mounted on the separate printed circuit board 143 may bemounted to the back surface 113 of the TFT substrate.

Hereinafter, an arrangement in which the display module configured asabove is arranged in tiled type to form a large format display apparatuswill be described to remove seams between the display modules.

FIG. 6 is a front diagram provided to show a large format displayapparatus in which display modules are arranged in plurality accordingto an embodiment. In FIG. 6, each display module may be denoted with byMn, where n is a positive integer).

Referring to FIG. 6, the large format display apparatus 10 according toan embodiment may comprise a first display module M1, a second displaymodule M2, a third display module M3, and a fourth display module M4.Each display module M1 to M4 may include a panel driver 150 includingdata drivers 151-1 to 151-4 and gate drivers 153-1 to 153-4. In otherwords, the display module M1 may include a panel driver 150 including adata driver 151-1 and a gate driver 153-1, and the display module M2 mayinclude a panel driver 150 including a data driver 151-2 and a gatedriver 153-2, etc. In this configuration, each panel driver 150 may bedisposed on the back surface of each display module through side wiring170 formed along outside edges (with respect to the large format displayapparatus 10) as shown in FIG. 6. The edge of each display module may bedenoted by Em-n, where m and n are each positive integers. That is,display module M1 may have edges E1-1, E1-2, E1-3, and E1-4, and displaymodule M2 may have edges E2-1, E2-2, E2-3, and E2-4, etc., as shown inFIG. 6.

The first display module M1 may be disposed on the left side of the toppart of the large format display apparatus 10, the second display moduleM2 may be disposed on the right side of the top part of the large formatdisplay apparatus 10, the third display module M3 may be disposed on theleft side of the bottom part of the large format display apparatus 10,and the fourth display module M4 may be disposed on the right side ofthe bottom part of the large format display apparatus 10, as shown inFIG. 6.

The first display module to the fourth display module M1 to M4 arrangedas above may be disposed such that side wiring is not formed on edgesthat are in contact with each other. That is, side wiring 170 is notformed on interior edges of the first to fourth display modules M1 to M4(with respect to the large format display apparatus 10).

That is, the edge E1-1 of the top part of the first display module M1 isformed with a plurality of side wirings 170 which electrically couplewith a first data driver 151-1, and the edge E1-2 of the left side ofthe first display module M1 may be formed with a plurality of sidewirings 170 that electrically couple with a first gate driver 153-1. Theedge E2-1 of the top side of the second display module M2 may be formedwith a plurality of side wirings 170 which electrically couple with asecond data driver 151-2, and the edge E1-3 of the right side of thesecond display module M2 may be formed with a plurality of side wirings170 which electrically couple with a second gate driver 153-2. The edgeE3-4 of the bottom side of the third display module M3 may be formedwith a plurality of side wirings 170 which electrically couple with athird data driver 151-3, and the edge E3-2 of the left side of the thirddisplay module M3 may be formed with a plurality of side wirings 170which electrically couple with a third gate driver 153-3. The edge E4-4of the bottom side of the fourth display module M4 may be formed with aplurality of side wirings 170 which electrically couple with a fourthdata driver 151-4, and the edge E4-3 of the right side of the fourthdisplay module M4 may be formed with a plurality of side wirings 170which electrically couple with a fourth gate driver 153-4.

In this configuration, the edge E1-3 of the right side and the edge E1-4of the bottom side of the first display module M1, the edge E2-2 of theleft side and the edge E2-2 of the bottom side of the second displaymodule M2, the edge E3-1 of the top side and the edge E3-3 of the rightside of the third display module M3, and the edge E4-1 of the top sideand the edge E4-2 of the left side of the fourth display module M4 arenot formed with side wiring respectively.

Accordingly, each display module M1 to M4, with respect to the displaymodules adjacent to the display module, is arranged such that the edgenot formed with side wiring is to be in contact with each other. Thelarge format display apparatus 10 arranged with display modulesconfigured as above may implement seamlessness that does not show a seamat the coupling portion between interior edges of each display modulewhen outputting images or video to the screen.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram provided to show both a timing controller anda processor to control a panel driver of a display module, according toan embodiment. Control of the display module included in the largeformat display apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Forthe sake of convenience in explanation, FIG. 7 only illustrates onedisplay module from a plurality of display modules forming the largeformat display apparatus.

The timing controller 200, by controlling the panel driver 150, maydrive each of the display modules 100.

The timing controller 200 may receive an input signal (IS), a horizontalsynchronous (Hsync) signal, a vertical synchronous (Vsync) signal, amain clock signal (MCLK) signal, and the like from the processor 300,and may generate RGB image data signal, a scan control signal, a datacontrol signal, an emission control signal, and the like to provide tothe panel driver 150.

Further, the timing controller 200, in order to control the brightnessof the RGB non-organic light emitting elements, may use at least one ofa pulse width modulation (PWM) in which a duty ratio of a drivingcurrent (Id) may be varied and a pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) inwhich a pulse amplitude of a driving current (Id) may be varied.

For example, in the case of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal, thelonger the duty ratio (or drive time) of the driving current is, thehigher the brightness of the light emitted by the non-organic lightemitting elements, and the duty ratio (%) may be determined based on adimming value input from the processor 300. On the other hand, in thecase of a pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), the greater the pulseamplitude of the driving current is, the higher the brightness of thelight emitted by the non-organic light emitting elements. Based on theabove, various colors and gradations of video images may be displayed.

The panel driver 150 may include the data driver 151 and the gate driver153.

The data driver 151 (or source driver), as a means to generate a datasignal, may receive RGB image data from the timing controller 200 andgenerate various data signals. Further, the data driver 151 maysequentially transfer the generated various data signals through datalines D1 to Dm (m being a positive integer) coupled with the displaymodule 100. In some embodiments, the data driver may be disposed on theback surface of the display module 100.

The gate driver 153, as means to generate various control signals suchas a gate signal (or scan signal, GATE(n)), a reset signal (RES(n)), anda SENS(n), may sequentially transfer the generated various controlsignals through gate lines G1 to Gn (n being a positive integer) coupledwith the display module 100. In some embodiments, the gate driver 153may be disposed on the back surface of the display module 100.

Each display module 100 may include the TFT substrate 110 and aplurality of pixels 130 formed on the TFT substrate 110, as shown anddescribed above with respect to FIGS. 2-5.

The pixel may be formed from RGB color sub-pixels, and the sub-pixelsmay be formed from light emitted from the non-organic light emittingelements by the data signal and control signal applied from the datadriver 151 and the gate driver 153. To this end, the non-organic lightemitting element may include a light emitting diode, a switching element(for example, a thin film transistor (TFT)) switching to an on/offstate, and a storage capacitor.

Each display module 100 may dispose the data driver 151 to one side ofan outer part area from the back surface of the display module 100, andmay dispose the gate driver 153 to the other side of an outer part areaadjacent to the one side of the outer part area in which the data driver151 is disposed from the back surface of the display module 100, asillustrated and described with reference to FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, the large format display apparatus 10 according toan embodiment may be implemented as a large format display apparatus 10such as a video wall by arranging a plurality of different displaymodules M1 to M4 in a 2×2 arrangement.

The first display module M1 and the fourth display module M4 may bedisposed at [1,1] and [2,2] positions with a [0,0] position in the topleft of the large format display apparatus 10, and the second displaymodule M2 and the third display module M3 may be disposed at [1,2] and[2,1] positions, respectively. In this case, the data driver 151-1 andthe gate driver 153-1 provided in the first display module M1 may bedisposed opposite in the respective diagonal directions in terms of thedata driver 151-4 and the gate driver 153-1 provided in the fourthdisplay module M4. Likewise, the data driver 151-2 and the gate driver153-2 provided in the second display module M2 may be disposed oppositein the respective diagonal directions in terms of the data driver 151-3and the gate driver 153-3 provided in the third display module M3.

The large format display apparatus 10 of a 2×2 arrangement as above isonly an example, and embodiments are not limited thereto. Thearrangement form of the large format display apparatus and the number ofdisplay modules comprising the large format display apparatus may bevariously modified, and will be described below.

The timing controller 200 may show various video images by driving thefirst display module to the fourth display module M1 to M4.

Specifically, the timing controller 200, based on receiving a videoimage signal from the outside, may generate a divided video image signalcorresponding to the position of each of display module M1 to M4.

In addition, the timing controller 200, in terms of each of the first tofourth display modules M1 to M4, may transmit a video image signalcorresponding to the position of the respective display modules.

For example, the timing controller 200 may divide the video image signalinto 4 areas, and simultaneously transmit a RGB signal corresponding toa left side of a top end area of the video image to a left side of a topend of the first display module M1, a RGB signal corresponding to a leftside of a bottom end area of the video image to a left side of a bottomend of the third display module M3, a RGB signal corresponding to aright side of a top end area of the video image to a right side of a topend of the second display module M2, and a RGB signal corresponding to aright side of a bottom end area of the video image to a right side of abottom end of the fourth display module M4, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the above described example, the timing controller 200 isdescribed as dividing the video image signal received from the processor300 and transmit to each display module M1 to M4, but this is merely anexample, and embodiments are not limited thereto. It should be notedthat it is also possible to receive a divided video image signal fromthe outside and transmit to the corresponding display modules M1 to M4respectively.

In the following, a large format display apparatus according to anotherembodiment comprising a different arrangement from the large formatdisplay apparatus having 4 display modules will be described.

FIG. 8 is a front diagram provided to show an example of a large formatdisplay apparatus according to an embodiment, and FIG. 9 is an enlargeddiagram provided to show portion B indicated in FIG. 8, according to anembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, the large format display apparatus 10 a may beformed by arranging 16 display modules.

The arrangement of each display module comprising the large formatdisplay apparatus 10 a is as follows.

The first to the fourth display modules M1 to M4 may be arranged so thatthe edges without side wirings are in contact with each other as withthe arrangement of the large format display apparatus 10 illustrated inFIG. 6.

The fifth to sixteenth display modules M5 to M16 may be arranged tosurround the outer part of the first to fourth display modules M1 to M4in a 2×2 arrangement.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 8, the fifth display module M5 isdisposed on a left upper side in a diagonal direction of the firstdisplay module M1, the sixth display module M6 is disposed on the leftside of the first display module M1, and the ninth display module M9 isdisposed on the top side of the first display module M1.

In this case, the sixth display module M6 is configured such that theedge E6-3 without side wiring is in contact with the edge E1-2 of thefirst display module M1 with side wiring. Based on such an arrangement,a gap G may be formed between the first display module M1 and sixthdisplay module M6 as shown in FIG. 9. The gap G may correspond to thethickness t (referring to FIG. 3) of the side wiring 170. Since the gapG between the first and sixth display modules M1 and M6 may be quitenarrowly formed, the possibility of a seam showing would be low, but fora more complete seamlessness, intervals between pixels may be adjusted.

Specifically, a first pitch P1 between pixels 130 a and 130 b of thefirst display module M1 may be the same as a second pitch P2 betweenpixels 130 c and 130 d of the sixth display module M6. Accordingly,considering that the first pitch P1 and the second pitch P2 are thesame, if the third pitch P3 between the pixel 130 a formed on the edgeE1-2 of the first display module M1 and the pixel 130 c formed on theedge E6-3 of the sixth display module M6 is also maintained to be thesame as the first pitch P1 and the second pitch P2, the seam between thefirst and sixth display modules M1 and M6 is no longer visible whenoperating a video image in a large format display apparatus 10 a. Inother words, in some embodiments, P1=P2=P3 such that the pixels 130 mayhave a same pitch over the large format display apparatus 10.

At this time, adjusting the third pitch P3 to be the same as that of thefirst pitch P1 and the second pitch P2 may be implemented through thefollowing methods.

A first method is a method for adjusting the width (based on FIG. 9) ofthe sixth display module M6. That is, the edge E6-3 of the sixth displaymodule M6 may be manufactured to cut vertically by a lengthcorresponding to the gap G.

A second method is a method for adjusting the mounting position of theplurality of pixels mounted in the sixth display module M6. That is, theplurality of pixels of the sixth display module M6 may be moved by thelength corresponding to the gap G toward the first display module M1side to be all the same and mounted.

Accordingly, based on the edge without side wirings contacting the edgewith side wirings among the display modules disposed adjacent to eachother as illustrated in FIG. 8, by setting the pitch between pixelspositioned closest between each of the display modules to all be thesame as the pitch between pixels disposed on each display module,seamlessness may be implemented in a large format display apparatus 10a.

The sixth display module M6 and the seventh display module M7, bydisposing the edges E6-4 and E7-1 without side wirings formed to becontact with each other, may implement seamlessness between each of thedisplay modules M6 and M7. The ninth and tenth display modules M9 andM10, the eleventh and twelfth display modules M1l and M12, and thefourteenth and fifteenth display modules M14 and M15, like the abovedescribed sixth and seventh display modules M6 and M7, may also bedisposed such that the edges without side wiring are in contact witheach other.

The large format display apparatus 10 a is disposed such that thedisplay modules adjacent to each other are in contact with the edgeswithout side wirings, and also by adjusting the pitch of pixels betweeneach module based on the edges without side wirings being in contactwith the edges with side wirings. Accordingly, the large format displayapparatus 10 a may prevent seams that may generate between each of thedisplay modules.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are front diagrams provided to show implemented examplesof large format display apparatuses according to embodiments.

The large format display apparatus 10 b shown in FIG. 10 is configuredsuch that 2 display modules each (M6,M7;M14,M15) may be arranged towardthe left side and right side of the first display module to the fourthdisplay module M1 to M4 illustrated in FIG. 6 in a 2×2 arrangement.

In this configuration, the sixth display module M6 may be disposed suchthat the right side edge without side wirings is in contact with theleft side edge of the first display module M1 with side wirings.Further, the sixth display module M6 may be disposed such that thebottom side edge without side wirings is in contact with the top sideedge of the seventh display module M7 without side wirings.

The large format display apparatus 10 b such as the above may beconfigured such that each display module is arranged to have a mix of acase where the edges of the display modules adjacent to each other areall without side wirings and a case where one of the two edges are withside wirings.

The large format display apparatus 10 c shown in FIG. 11 is configuredsuch that 2 display modules each (M9,M10;M11,M12) may be arranged towardthe top side and bottom side of the first display module to the fourthdisplay module M1 to M4 illustrated in FIG. 6 in a 2×2 arrangement.

The large format display apparatuses 10 b and 10 c such as the above maybe configured such that each display module is arranged lengthwise in ahorizontal direction or a vertical direction, and may implementseamlessness whichever the arrangement.

In addition, although not illustrated in the drawings, in someembodiments the large format display apparatus may be in various shapesthat are not in a rectangular shape. For example, it is also possible tomanufacture a large format display apparatus where at least oneadditional display module is in contact with at least one display modulefrom the first to fourth display modules M1 to M4 illustrated in FIG. 6in a 2×2 arrangement. In this case, the display module may be formed invarious shapes such as an 1′ shape, an inverted 1′ shape, a ‘T’ shape,an inverted ‘T’ shape, or the like as well as may implement seamlessnessbetween each display module.

The display module according to an embodiment of the disclosure may beapplied to an electronic product or an electronic device that requires awearable device, a portable device, a handheld device, or variousdisplays, in a single unit. The display module may also be applied to adisplay device such as a monitor for a personal computer, a TV and alarge format display device such as a digital signage, an electronicdisplay through a plurality of assembly arrangements.

Each of the elements (for example, a module or a program) according tovarious embodiments may be composed of a single entity or a plurality ofentities, and some sub-elements of the abovementioned sub-elements maybe omitted, or other sub-elements may further be included in variousembodiments. Alternatively or additionally, some elements (e.g., modulesor programs) may be integrated into one entity to perform the same orsimilar functions performed by each respective element prior tointegration. Operations performed by a module, program, or otherelement, in accordance with various embodiments, may be performedsequentially, in a parallel, repetitive, or heuristically manner, or atleast some operations may be performed in a different order, omitted, orinclude a different operation.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea ofthe disclosure, and it will be understood by those of ordinary skill inthe art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Inaddition, the embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to limit thescope of the disclosure but to describe the technical spirit of thedisclosure, and the scope of the technical spirit of the disclosure isnot limited by the embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the disclosureis to be construed according to the following claims, and all thetechnical spirits within the equivalent scope is within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display module comprising: a substrate; aplurality of light emitting diodes arranged on one surface of thesubstrate; a plurality of first connection pads formed on the onesurface of the substrate; a plurality of second connection pads formedon an opposite surface of the one surface; and a plurality of sidewirings formed on each of a first edge of the substrate and a secondedge of the substrate that is adjacent to the first edge, the pluralityof side wirings electrically coupling the plurality of first connectionpads on the one surface of the substrate with respective ones of theplurality of second connection pads on the opposite surface.
 2. Thedisplay module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of side wirings areformed only on the first edge and the second edge.
 3. The display moduleof claim 1, wherein the plurality of side wirings are not formed on athird edge of the substrate or on a fourth edge of the substrate.
 4. Thedisplay module of claim 1, wherein the each of the plurality of sidewirings is formed to connect the one surface, a side end surface and theopposite surface of the substrate, wherein, for each of the plurality ofside wirings, one end of the side wiring is electrically coupled with afirst connection pad disposed on the one surface of the substrate, andan other end of the side wiring is electrically coupled with a secondconnection pad disposed on the opposite surface of the substrate.
 5. Thedisplay module of claim 1, wherein the each of the plurality of sidewirings is formed to connect the one surface, a side end surface and theopposite surface of the substrate, wherein, for each of the plurality ofside wirings, one end of the side wiring is electrically coupled with afirst connection pad disposed on the one surface of the substrate, andan other end of the side wiring is electrically coupled with anelectronic element mounted to the opposite surface of the substrate. 6.The display module of claim 5, wherein the electronic element is a datadriver or a gate driver that drives the plurality of light emittingdiodes of the display module.
 7. A large format display apparatuscomprising: a plurality of the display modules of claim 1 connected toeach other, wherein the first edge and the second edge of each of thedisplay modules are arranged on outside edges of the large formatdisplay apparatus.
 8. The large format display apparatus of claim 7,wherein a third edge and a fourth edge of each of the display modulesare arranged and connected together on an inside of the large formatdisplay apparatus.
 9. The large format display apparatus of claim 7,wherein the plurality of the display modules comprise a first displaymodule arranged at a position [1,1], a second display module arranged ata position [1,2], a third display module arranged at a position [2,1],and a fourth display module arranged at a position [2,2], wherein thefirst display module includes edges E1-1 and E1-2 that are each providedwith the plurality of side wirings, and edges E1-3 and E1-4 that are notprovided with the plurality of side wirings; wherein the second displaymodule includes edges E2-1 and E2-3 that are each provided with theplurality of side wirings, and edges E2-2 and E2-4 that are not providedwith the plurality of side wirings; wherein the third display moduleincludes edges E3-2 and E3-4 that are each provided with the pluralityof side wirings, and edges E3-1 and E3-3 that are not provided with theplurality of side wirings; wherein the fourth display module includesedges E4-3 and E4-4 that are each provided with the plurality of sidewirings, and edges E4-1 and E4-2 that are not provided with theplurality of side wirings.
 10. The large format display apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein edges E1-3 and E2-2 are connected, edgesE2-4 and E4-1 are connected, edges E3-3 and E4-2 are connected, andedges E1-4 and E3-1 are connected.
 11. A large format display apparatus,wherein a plurality of display modules are consecutively connected, eachof the plurality of display modules comprising: a substrate; a pluralityof light emitting diodes arranged on one surface of the substrate; aplurality of first connection pads formed on the one surface of thesubstrate; a plurality of second connection pads formed on an oppositesurface of the one surface; and a plurality of side wirings formed oneach of a first edge of the substrate and a second edge of the substratethat is adjacent to the first edge, the plurality of side wiringselectrically coupling the plurality of first connection pads on the onesurface of the substrate with respective ones of the plurality of secondconnection pads on the opposite surface.
 12. The large format displayapparatus of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of display modulesis arranged such that edges having the side wirings are disposed towardan outer edge of the large format display apparatus.
 13. The largeformat display apparatus of claim 11, wherein every three light emittingdiodes of the plurality of light emitting diodes comprise a pixel,wherein a plurality of the pixels are arranged on each of the pluralityof display modules to form a lattice shape over the large format displayapparatus, and wherein the pixels have a same pitch over the largeformat display apparatus.
 14. The large format display apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the plurality of display modules comprise a firstdisplay module to a fourth display module connected together in a 2×2arrangement such that an edge without side wirings of one of the firstdisplay module to the fourth display module is in contact with anotheredge without side wirings of another one of the first display module tothe fourth display module.
 15. The large format display apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein every three light emitting diodes of the plurality oflight emitting diodes comprise a pixel, wherein a plurality of thepixels are arranged on each of the first display module to the fourthdisplay module in a lattice shape over the large format displayapparatus, and wherein the pixels have a same pitch over the largeformat display apparatus.
 16. The large format display apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the first display module is arranged at a position[1,1], a second display module is arranged at a position [1,2], a thirddisplay module is arranged at a position [2,1], and the fourth displaymodule is arranged at a position [2,2], wherein the first display moduleincludes edges E1-1 and E1-2 that are each provided with the pluralityof side wirings, and edges E1-3 and E1-4 that are not provided with theplurality of side wirings; wherein the second display module includesedges E2-1 and E2-3 that are each provided with the plurality of sidewirings, and edges E2-2 and E2-4 that are not provided with theplurality of side wirings; wherein the third display module includesedges E3-2 and E3-4 that are each provided with the plurality of sidewirings, and edges E3-1 and E3-3 that are not provided with theplurality of side wirings; wherein the fourth display module includesedges E4-3 and E4-4 that are each provided with the plurality of sidewirings, and edges E4-1 and E4-2 that are not provided with theplurality of side wirings.
 17. The large format display apparatusaccording to claim 16, wherein edges E1-3 and E2-2 are connected, edgesE2-4 and E4-1 are connected, edges E3-3 and E4-2 are connected, andedges E1-4 and E3-1 are connected.
 18. The large format displayapparatus of claim 12, wherein the plurality of display modules isconfigured such that: a first display module is formed with side wiringson each of a left side and a top side thereof, a second display moduleis formed with side wirings on each of a right side and a top sidethereof, a third display module is formed with side wirings on each of aleft side and a bottom side thereof, and a fourth display module isformed with side wirings on each of a right side and a bottom sidethereof.
 19. The large format display apparatus of claim 14, whereinevery three light emitting diodes of the plurality of light emittingdiodes comprise a pixel, wherein a plurality of the pixels are arrangedat a first pitch in a lattice shape.
 20. The large format displayapparatus of claim 19, further comprising: at least one additionaldisplay module comprising a plurality of side wirings formed on each oftwo edges of the at least one additional display module that areadjacent to each other, wherein the at least one additional displaymodule is arranged such that an edge thereof without side wirings is incontact with an edge of one of the plurality of display modules withside wirings, and wherein pixels on either side of abutting edges thatare closest to each other are spaced apart at a second pitch that is thesame as the first pitch.